Other formats

    TEI XML file   ePub eBook file  

Connect

    mail icontwitter iconBlogspot iconrss icon

The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Canterbury Provincial District]

The Midland Railway

The Midland Railway.

The story of the Midland Railway is so interesting and so full of valuable colonial history that it is worthy of some brief record in any account of the Canterbury railway system. Westland is an extremely rich district; in gold, coal, and timber its wealth is practically incalculable, and its inaccessible position is the only obstacle to its delevopment. The first effort to connect it with the rest of the island was made by Nelson. From 1866 to 1869 the Provincial Council took various steps towards the flotation of a company, which, partly on borrowed capital, should construct a Nelson and West Coast railway line. But when matters had progressed so far, the central Government stepped in, and by guaranteeing to Nelson that the West Coast line should be constructed as part of the main trunk line for the Middle Island, persuaded the province to desist from its task. In 1873 Sir Julius Vogel referred to this promise of a Nelson-Westland line as fully recognised by the Government, and there can be no doubt that this railway— Nelson to Westland to Canterbury, with a branch to Marlborough—was adopted as part of the Public Works Policy of 1870, with which the name of Vogel is inseparably connected.

The agitation for the construction of the Canterbury-Westland railway began in 1878. Sir John Hall, Dr. Turnbull, and Mr. Rolleston, ably supported by the “Star” newspaper, spoke boldly for the prosecution of the scheme; but the effort ended for the time with a deputation to Wellington, which came to nothing. However, Mr. Macandrew, then Minister for Public Works, was, as he always continued to be, well disposed towards the movement, and mentioned it favourably in his Statement for the year. Mr. Rolleston pointed out in the House that of all the provinces Canterbury had incalculably the greatest claim on the consideration of the General Government. Including railways proposed in the Public Works Statement, the total amount to be expended on the various provincial railways to date was, in round numbers, as follows: Auckland £2,000,000, Wellington £3,000,000; Canterbury £3,000,000, Otago £4,500,000. But in forming any estimate of what was due from the colony to each province, attention must be paid to the amount of liability taken over from the provinces by the Government at the time of abolition. The figures stand thus: Auckland £1,000,000, Otago £1,000,000, Wellington £500,000; and Canterbury owed only £70. These figures might appeal even to the strongest provincial partisan, and they had their effect at the time. But next session the Grey Ministry went out of office, and when Sir John Hall became Premier in 1879, it was soon seen that the fate of the undertaking was sealed. Over £2,000,000 was voted for other lines, which might fairly be called less important, but the promise to Canterbury and Westland was forgotten.

Then the West Coast Railway League came to the front to promote the line. In conjunction with Christchurch, the league had the country along the Hurunui-Brunnerton and other routes examined by a commission, which did not report favourably. When Mr. Johnston, Public Works Minister in the Whitaker Cabinet of 1882, brought down his Statement, there was no mention of the line, though about £10,000,000 was to be borrowed for public works. But the supporters of the project were not inclined to let it go by default. In 1882 the Canterbury Midland Railway League was formed, and immediately began to urge its views upon the country. In reply to remonstrances from this body Mr. Whitaker stated that the money borrowed had been earmarked for specified purposes, and could not be diverted from them to the Midland Railway. However, in 1883 the Governor appointed a Commission to enquire into the possibilities of the line over eleven different routes. The Commission reported in glowing terms on the timber, coal, and gold to be found on the West Coast, and compared in detail the various lines suggested. The struggle really lay between the Hurunui and Arthur's Pass routes; and the southern route was the shorter and the better of the two, in spite of immense engineering difficulties to be overcome. However, the Commission did not think that the line could do more than pay working expenses, and once more the scheme was relegated to the background. Then came the agitation with which the name of Mr. T. Kelsey is honourably connected; and in the same year Sir Julius Vogel passed a measure empowering the construction of the line from Springfield over Arthur's Pass to Brunnerton by means of a syndicate or private company. Messrs A. D. Dobson and Alan Scott proceeded in 1885 to London to arrange for the construction of the line. Meiggs and Sons, South American contractors of repute, were prepared to undertake the work if 2 1/2 per cent, interest on expenses were guaranteed by the Government for twenty years. The total cost was to be about £3,800,000. A monster meeting at Christchurch endorsed these terms; and it was shown by statistics that the colony would save about £1,300,000 in twenty years if the work were done by the private company rather than by the Government. Sir Julius Vogel then tried to get the House to appoint a commission to consider the whole question, but he was beaten. Bitter indignation was felt in Canterbury and Westland. The Midland page 16 Railway League started work again, and Mr. E. Richardson, then Minister of Public Works, allocated £1,50,000 for the commencement of the work. Dr. Frankish, Mr. J. Matson, Mr. Acton-Adams, Mr. T. Wetson, and others helped to organise a mass meeting in Christchurch: at which the members of the league protested strongly against the selfish interprovincial jealousy which was blocking the way. But in the House the vote was reduced to £1000. The league pursued its way unmoved, and interprovincial bitterness grew apace. It was urged that “support of the West Coast Railway should be a test question for all Canterbury candidates at the next election,” and ultimately the great force of popular opinion behind this movement attained its object. The question of what the Central Government owes to Canterbury does not necessarily enter into the discussion. The Hon. C. C. Bowen stated the case impartially and without provincial bias when he said: “Those who advocate the immediate prosecution of the East and West Coast and Nelson Railway do so because they are satisfied that it will pay better than any other line now projected in New Zealand; because it is a part of the trunk line, connecting all parts of the island together; because it will practically add a new territory to the colony—a territory teeming with all sorts of minerals —with large undeveloped wealth hitherto cut off: and, above all, because it will add to the population of the country—not by introducing at large expense people who cannot find work, but—by finding work which will attract population.” Followed out on these lines, the, movement in favour of the Midland Railway was ultimately sure to triumph.

The Central Government agreed to perform its share of the responsibility by granting large areas of land along the projected line to the contracting company. The Arthur's Pass route was finally chosen as the most practicable of all suggested, and work was duly begun. The subsequent difficulties with the Midland Railway Company, leading up to the seizure of the works by the Government for breach of contract, are more a matter of colonial than of purely Canterbury history. The Government has triumphantly vindicated the course it took in the matter, and the work of completing the line is now being pushed vigorously on.

In the Public Works Statement delivered in October, 1901, the Minister announced that the section of the line between Jackson's and Otira, which was wholly constructed by the Government, had been formally handed over to the Railway Department for regular working in the previous November, but goods trains had been running over it for nearly a year prior to that date. At the Canterbury end of the railway, where the works were of the heaviest description, good progress had been made. The cuttings and banks on the first four miles and a half had been nearly completed, and the tunnels on the same section were approaching completion. Tenders had been invited for the completion of the viaduct over Paterson's Creek, and that of Messrs Scott Bros., of Christchurch, accepted for the work; and plans for the larger viaduct over Staircase Gully were being prepared. The extension of the Nelson section of the line to Tadmor, authorised in 1900, had been commenced, and the earthworks were making satisfactory progress. Plans were prepared for the large combined road-and-railway bridge over the Motueka River, and tenders for its erection had recently been received and declined; but the engineer-in-chief was reconsidering the design of the bridge with a view to effecting some economy in its construction. Considerable work had been done during the year in making the necessary surveys in connection with the proposed long tunnel between Otira and the Bealey. But before definitely undertaking the construction of a work of such great magnitude, the Government had considered it desirable to obtain a report from an American or Canadian engineer of eminence and of experience in the construction of mountain railways on the different proposals that had been made in reference to the construction of that particular section of the railway. It was proposed to expend £100,000 on the line during the year. That was how things stood in October, 1901, with respect to the Midland Railway.

Midland Railway: Tunnel Front, SpringField End.

Midland Railway: Tunnel Front, SpringField End.

Apart from the Midland Railway, the only line of importance to Canterbury now under construction is the BlenheimWaipara line. The work at the northern end was completed in 1901. The bridging of the Awatere River removed the worst obstacle and greatest danger which traffic on the line had to face, and a wind-screen has been built to protect trains crossing the bridge from the violent winds. The bridge over the Hurunui is to be 376 ft. long, with two page 17 spans of 100 feet each, supported on concrete piers.